Dozens of Ethiopian figures held on corruption charges

Government crackdown sees public officials detained; minister says more arrests could come

25.07.2017

An outside view of stores after Ethiopian craftsmen shut down their shops to protest against tax regulations in Holeta of the Oromia Regio, Ethiopia on July 18, 2017. ( Minasse Wondimu Hailu - Anadolu Agency )

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ADABA

The Ethiopian government on Tuesday arrested 34 senior public officials, investors and brokers for alleged embezzlement of public funds.

Negeri Lencho, the country’s communication minister, told a news conference the officials had been arrested after police investigations, plus probes by the attorney general and auditor general’s offices.

Without disclosing any names, Lencho said the suspects had been serving as senior officials in the ministry of finance, the roads authority and the sugar industry.

He said the government had launched a crackdown on corruption and it was possible more arrests would be made in the coming days.

Lencho also called on the public to lodge complaints about suspected corruption.